Arc the Lad

Following a narrated musing on destiny, episode 2 opens with Elk listening to a doctored radio report of the air ship catastrophe, just before receiving a bonus reward from the Mayor for rescuing the passengers, most of whom are guests at the opening ceremonies to unveil a new statue in reverence to a goddess, a political valuable publicity stunt for the dubious politician. Eager to start another bounty job, Elk asks Shu, a father figure to the young hunter, to join him in protecting Pandit and Lieza, now on the run from brasher bounty hunters, and man-made chimeras with government connections. « read less

When the bounty on Pandit is suddenly withdrawn, Elk and Shu redouble their efforts to discover who is chasing Lieza and the monster, and for what reason. Meanwhile, Mayor Galuana of Prodias unveils his statue of the Goddess of Peace and spares no expense, including the hiring of White House chimeras, to guard the statue against Arc. When the statue is unveiled, an orb in its hand begins to glow, immobilizing the audience. But a bolt of laser fire from the Silver Noah, the airship of the renegade Arc, destroys the statue. « read less

Elk pursues the Silver Noah in his airship Hien in a desperate attempt to catch up with his nemesis, destroying its engine and crashing the ship on a remote island. Elk, Lieza and Pandit awaken in the care of two of the island's inhabitants, Dr. Vilmer and his granddaughter Lia, but Shu is nowhere to be found. Although Elk does not recognize him, a flashback reveals that Dr. Vilmer had worked with the young fire master in White House, though the doctor has since left Prodias to hide. On the island, Elk tells Lieza about his boyhood experience with Arc, when soldiers destroyed his native village of Pilka in an attempt to capture the statue of the spirit of flame. With the help of some islanders, Elk begins to repair the Hien so he can return to Prodias, locate Shu, and continue his quest to bring Arc to justice. « read less

Elk learns of the bounty on his head as soon as he returns to Prodias. Before long, Elk is able to track down Shu, who conceals the full extent of his injuries. Deducing the involvement of Mayor Galuana and White House in the bounty, Lieza determines to head back to her home village of Horn to make sure her family is all right. Elk accompanies her, but they run into trouble when a military force inspects their train. « read less

Unprepared for the trek across the desert, Elk, Lieza and Pundit succumb to the elements only to be rescued by Celendia, part of a camp serving the wounded in the struggle over the disputed region. Ostensibly benevolent, Lieza grows suspicious of the operation, and with good cause - Mayor Galuana funds the camp. « read less

In the midst of the Silver Noah crew's emancipation of the White House youths, Elk makes an impulsive attempt to rescue Meril and learns the horrible secret of White House. Meril has been grafted until a horrendous bulbous plant that produces the seeds that transform men into Chimera; Meril has become the Holy Mother. « read less

Arc and the Silver Noah head for the Shrine of the Spirits in the Kingdom of Smeria to drop off the rescued children and consult with Kukuru, the maiden of the Shrine. Elk continues to feel overwhelming rage, and itches for action, but the same shield that protects the Shrine from Evil keeps Elk from leaving. Meanwhile, Kukuru counsels Lieza about helping the young hunter the same way Kukuru herself has aided Arc in coming to terms with his fate. Also in Smeria, Clive meets with Andel to plot the continuation of their evil plan. « read less

In a further attempt to draw Arc into the open, Andel orders the crucifixion of dozens of political prisoners. Seeing the suffering of his people, Arc cannot help but send his people into an obvious trap. Trying to help, Elk disobeys orders and gives into his rage. Sensing Elk's decent into rage, Lieza begs for permission from Kukuru to leave the Shrine sanctuary. Clive watches from outside the sanctuary when Lieza bursts, acknowledging, for the first time, that the woman intended to replace the Holy Mother is more formidable than he had expected. « read less

Arc, Elk and the others begin gathering information that will enable them to launch an offensive on Yagun's forces. Meanwhile, Clive's subordinates begin the procedure to turn the captured Lieza into the new Holy Mother- but Celendia begins to suspect that Clive has been less than forthcoming about the true nature of his endgame… « read less

Using their insidious mind control devices, the remaining generals of Darkness accelerate the transformation of innocent people into Chimeras, hoping to usher in a new age of chaos. All that remains is to open the Holy Ark, and now that Clive has brainwashed Lieza into helping him, it won't be too long before the Darkness is freed once again! Elk, Arc and the others must prepare for their final battle, but with Arc injured and the power of the Spirits weaker than ever, what chance do they have of success? « read less

Elk, Arc and Kukulu have made it to a final confrontation with Clive, but with the Holy Ark now open, he already commands fearsome powers of Darkness. As Elk tries to help Lieza break free of Clive's brainwashing, Clive reveals that he has more than one trick up his sleeve when it comes to ensuring that the world is engulfed in Darkness. Will the power of the Spirits be enough to ensure that evil is defeated, and who will have to be sacrificed to save the day? « read less